"Super Bunny Fart" Loads - 38spl - Airweight Snub ?

[EddieZoom]

Anyone have any recommendations for super light recoil 38 reloads that will be shot from airweight snubby ?

My "normal" light/min loads using Win231 or Bullseye are not quite light enough according to my wife. She likes the snub, but I want to encourage her to practice more....and super bunny farts is going to be key to success.

 

[CulperJr]

For my smith and Wesson M27 I make bunny fart loads with titegroup for my wife. I did the minimum charge in the hornaday reloading book for 125gr cast and 158gr plated and she seems to enjoy shooting it a lot!

Titegroup is pretty dirty though, unfortunately.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Anyone have any recommendations for super light recoil 38 reloads that will be shot from airweight snubby ?

My "normal" light/min loads using Win231 or Bullseye are not quite light enough according to my wife. She likes the snub, but I want to encourage her to practice more....and super bunny farts is going to be key to success.

Keep dropping the powder till you stick a bullet then go back up a couple tenths. Also get a lighter bullet.

I would recommend moving to a wadcutter so you reduce the effective powder capacity and get better burn with lighter charges.

I have a 112 grain wadcutter mould that sets the bullet deeper than a normal RN but weights very little. Something. Like that or even a 000 buck crimped tight in place would make for a super light load.

Something like this might do the trick. Load data in the website.

75 Grain Wadcutter (.359)-359-75-WC

www.mattsbullets.com

 

[EddieZoom]

For my smith and Wesson M27 I make bunny fart loads with titegroup for my wife. I did the minimum charge in the hornaday reloading book for 125gr cast and 158gr plated and she seems to enjoy shooting it a lot!

Titegroup is pretty dirty though, unfortunately.

I'm thinking your M27 is heavier than the Airweight...there-in lies the challenge.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Also I’m going to suggest clays if you can find it. It’s about the cleanest fast burning powder you’re going to find. VVN310 is super clean too but not as readily available. The. Again clays has been hard to find too.

Thought like I said before moving to a wadcutter will help that burn.

I know your main concern is recoil. What bullets do you have on hand right now? What charge of bullseye have you been using?

 

[EddieZoom]

Keep dropping the powder till you stick a bullet then go back up a couple tenths. Also get a lighter bullet.

I would recommend moving to a wadcutter so you reduce the effective powder capacity and get better burn with lighter charges.

I have a 112 grain wadcutter mould that sets the bullet deeper than a normal RN but weights very little. Something. Like that or even a 000 buck crimped tight in place would make for a super light load.

Something like this might do the trick. Load data in the website.

75 Grain Wadcutter (.359)-359-75-WC

www.mattsbullets.com

One of my loads is 148gr DEWC over 2.7gr of Bullseye...the goto "target" load for 38...still too much in the airweight snub.

Yeah, i haven't done much experimenting using *below* starting load recommendations....but I think that's where I'm heading with this.

 

[EddieZoom]

Something like this might do the trick. Load data in the website.

75 Grain Wadcutter (.359)-359-75-WC

www.mattsbullets.com

That is very interesting....

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Some good data to play with. Looks like you can move down on the bullseye no problem.
700x is also a contender.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

That is very interesting....

You can stack 2 of them and still have a nice light shooting load. It’s fun.

I have a bag of the 112s cast up. Only a hundred or so but if you’re coming down to shooting supply or anywhere around here I’ll give them to you to try. Maybe some .360” round balls too.

 

[EddieZoom]

Some good data to play with. Looks like you can move down on the bullseye no problem.
700x is also a contender.


View attachment 819544View attachment 819545View attachment 819546

Good stuff. Thanks

Gotta love the old reloading manuals.....

 

[EddieZoom]

You can stack 2 of them and still have a nice light shooting load. It’s fun.

I have a bag of the 112s cast up. Only a hundred or so but if you’re coming down to shooting supply or anywhere around here I’ll give them to you to try. Maybe some .360” round balls too.

Don't get down your way much these days....but I haven't been to shooting supply in quite some time....maybe a visit before Christmas. I'll ping you if I'm heading that way. Thanks.

 

[IPSC_DRL]

Trail boss powder if you can find it. Fill case to just below bullet (do not compress the charge) and you will have your bunny loads at extremely low pressure. I do this in 44 & 500 mag under lead for loads even my 98 lb. Niece can shoot comfortably.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

Don't get down your way much these days....but I haven't been to shooting supply in quite some time....maybe a visit before Christmas. I'll ping you if I'm heading that way. Thanks.

Sounds good.

Trail boss powder if you can find it. Fill case to just below bullet (do not compress the charge) and you will have your bunny loads at extremely low pressure. I do this in 44 & 500 mag under lead for loads even my 98 lb. Niece can shoot comfortably.

I’ve never been a fan of trail boss. I understand the use but in smaller pistol cases I’ve always felt better served with a little bit of fast powder. It’s easier to find. Comes in full pound containers and uses much less powder.

 

[p..]

Keep dropping the powder till you stick a bullet then go back up a couple tenths. Also get a lighter bullet.

I was doing the same experiments looking for a low recoil round for a friend to practice with in a 442.

This was 3.8 grains of Winchester 231 and a Berry's 125 grain bullet with a CCI 500 primer.

 

[pastera]

I was doing the same experiments looking for a low recoil round for a friend to practice with in a 442.

This was 3.8 grains of Winchester 231 and a Berry's 125 grain bullet with a CCI 500 primer.

View attachment 819731

Three issues with that load
1 - that 125g berries bullet is likely sized to 0.355"
2 - That case likely has thin walls
3 - No crimp groove

Those factors work together to allow the bullet to jump into the gap before building enough pressure to allow the powder to fully ignite - those weird translucent flakes of partially burned powder are indicative of this happening.
BTDT - it's a pain in the ass to knock that round out.

 

[p..]

Three issues with that load
1 - that 125g berries bullet is likely sized to 0.355"
2 - That case likely has thin walls
3 - No crimp groove

Those factors work together to allow the bullet to jump into the gap before building enough pressure to allow the powder to fully ignite - those weird translucent flakes of partially burned powder are indicative of this happening.
BTDT - it's a pain in the ass to knock that round out.

Agreed. I don't think I ever measured them with a micrometer, so I don't know the diameter. But I had awful luck with those bullets. Huge SD across a range of powders and loads. I avoid the brand altogether now.

 

[pastera]

Agreed. I don't think I ever measured them with a micrometer, so I don't know the diameter. But I had awful luck with those bullets. Huge SD across a range of powders and loads. I avoid the brand altogether now.

Same issue with xtreme plated bullets - ordered 125g HP that were supposed to be 0.357 but measured out to be just over 0.355

 

[EddieZoom]

38spl Bunny Fart Snubby Load Attempt

148gr DEWC (Hi-Tech)
2.5gr WIN231
WIN Small Primer
COL - 1.16x (a smidge longer than flush)
598fps average, min-568, max-621

I might go a little lighter for the hell of it...but these are pretty good for my purpose.

 

[Mountain]

Keep dropping the powder till you stick a bullet then go back up a couple tenths. Also get a lighter bullet.

I would recommend moving to a wadcutter so you reduce the effective powder capacity and get better burn with lighter charges.

I have a 112 grain wadcutter mould that sets the bullet deeper than a normal RN but weights very little. Something. Like that or even a 000 buck crimped tight in place would make for a super light load.

Something like this might do the trick. Load data in the website.

75 Grain Wadcutter (.359)-359-75-WC

www.mattsbullets.com

That 75 WC looks very interesting!

Not sure I'd go for 'sticking a bullet' however.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

That 75 WC looks very interesting!

Not sure I'd go for 'sticking a bullet' however.

Yeah sticking a bullet is no big deal with cast.
Fire the gun. Slide the range rod down to check the bore. Keep going.

 

[Mountain]

Yeah sticking a bullet is no big deal with cast.
Fire the gun. Slide the range rod down to check the bore. Keep going.

I guess that's a thing, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere near squibsville.

 

[38ExtraSpecial]

I guess that's a thing, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere near squibsville.

Hahahaha. I’ve done it before. As long as you’re the one doing it and you aren’t a goober it’s a common practice among the wild stupid bullet casters like me.

 

[peterk123]

I have a light load using HP38. But I think anything coming out of a snubby will have felt recoil. I think your missing the big picture here. What I'm hearing is, "honey you need to buy me a different 38". I think she needs a S&W 357 with a 5 inch barrel.

 

[drgrant]

How about getting her a gun that isn't horrendously bad first? (If you have to nurse it this much, she has the wrong gun)

 

[p..]

How about getting her a gun that isn't horrendously bad first?

Woah woah woah. Settle down. There's no badmouthing Airweight J frames here. They may not be appropriate for certain uses, but they are not bad guns.

 

[Mountain]

How about getting her a gun that isn't horrendously bad first? (If you have to nurse it this much, she has the wrong gun)

My wife would probably hate shooting an Airweight. Keep in mind she enjoys full boat .357's out of an older 6" 686. I think it's not just the recoil overall, it's how well the gun manages the recoil even when the recoil is much stronger. She also loved shooting a .460 Mag and would probably say go for it (and later say "Mine!") if I ever wanted to buy one.

Of course for purse carry I can see the attraction of something very light, so long as one can shoot it well enough.

 

[drgrant]

Woah woah woah. Settle down. There's no badmouthing Airweight J frames here. They may not be appropriate for certain uses, but they are not bad guns.

They are the worst gun on the planet for someone without skills. Pure shit, steepest learning curve.

 

[p..]

They are the worst gun on the planet for someone without skills. Pure shit, steepest learning curve.

Not appropriate for a new shooter. Agreed.

 

[meh]

I probably couldn't get my wife to shoot an Airweight 38 J-frame, but she's hell on wheels with a 4" model 10. Her DA skills are quite good, but she doesn't practice, and that's that. The Shield EZ 380 is what we tried first, but while she's good about getting the thumbs forward, her contact with the backstrap is unreliable. Took me a long time to realize what was happening with that grip safety. For myself, I could not figure out how NOT to engage it until I grabbed the gun in unnatural way (for me) with looseness between the webbing of my hand and the backstrap. Not a hill to die on.

Not being interested in 22LR handguns pretty much across the board, I bought for myself a S&W 43C. It's light enough to be almost interesting to shoot. My wife likes it, and the trigger is the same as the 642 except maybe slightly heavier. If I were interested in getting her proficiency with a 642, which I'm not currently, I might have her shooting the 43C a bunch and the 642 just for a cylinder or two at the end of a session as a reality check. Under stress, I think she'd do OK.